


Let's Get Some Shoes

by kdm13



Category: Magic Kaito
Genre: Because Kaito had to practice walking in heels at some point, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 12:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12211716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdm13/pseuds/kdm13
Summary: Kaito may have had training in disguise as a child, but nothing could prepare him for the horror of five inch heels.





	Let's Get Some Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I managed this. I didn't think I'd ever be able to write this much for one of these, but one ruined night of sleep later, here we are. Most of this was written between around midnight and four in the morning, but I think it still reads okay. First sentence is a slightly edited version of the first sentence of Kristin Chenoweth's book: A Little Bit Wicked. For timeline reference, this takes place before both Akako and Saguru come into the picture. 
> 
> Written for a themed writing contest thing on Poirot Cafe. Theme is shoes.

Kaito faced himself in the full-length mirror, stability in one hand, challenge in the other.

Five minutes later, he was sprawled at the bottom of the steps. So much for starting big. He twisted to look at his feet. Well, everything seemed in order. Even his head felt fine. No concussion. Nothing obviously broken. Good.

It was just going to be a long few weeks in order to get this right, but he was willing to put in the time. After all, Kaitou Kid didn't stumble and fall down the stairs. Not even while wearing five inch heels.

* * *

 Kaito was a good actor, but he struggled to hide his limp on his way to lunch. He had come to school early in order to hide it, but he was hungry. And sore. And somewhat regretting his choices the night before. But if he hadn't taken the risk, there was a chance he wouldn't be ready in time.

“Kaito, are you okay?” Aoko's worried face appeared in front of him. She was walking backwards and leaning to the side so she could look at him better.

He forced a smile. “I'm fine, Aoko. I just took the stairs wrong last night. I didn't think I needed to turn the lights on first.” It was true enough, just not in the way he made it sound. Better for her to think that he had misjudged his step due to a lack of light than a lack of balance.

She laughed at that, seemingly satisfied by his response. “You're so clumsy, Kaito.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He would have liked to see her try what he had without falling. Especially with the lights dimmed. And it made him feel better to see her smile. Even if it wasn't quite enough to get the spring back in his step.

* * *

 Kaito rubbed his feet often over the next few weeks, but wouldn't tell anyone the real reason why. What use would Kuroba Kaito have for high heels, anyway? He needed the practice for disguises, but there was no way he was going to let anyone know that.

Not even the other members of the theater club. He was just the one who handled hair and makeup, after all. Well, sometimes he helped with props and scenery, but he was better with makeup, and it was easier on most people's sanity that he stayed off the stage.

Which was a pity, as it would have been nice to get the extra practice in. At least he didn't have to walk too much. Just from one person to another, and he really wasn't needed much yet in any case. This early in the rehearsal schedule, he mostly just watched and made plans for what styles would work best for the production they were putting on.

* * *

 The click of heels filled the mostly empty Kuroba household every night for three weeks. For once, Kaito was glad that he lived alone most of the time these days. Sure, he missed the company, but he had the doves and school for that. And while advice would be nice, he didn't feel like having someone watch him fall on his face. He was supposed to have amazing balance.

It was the same reason why he avoided going on ice with anyone watching. At least this was a bit easier. Not quite as slick. He would hate to see Aoko's reaction if she ever found out about his struggles with either activity though. He could almost hear her laugh already.

At least the doves didn't laugh at him. Not really. Sure, sometimes their cooing sounded like laughter, but it wasn't the same. So when he stumbled on his way to clean out their enclosure one night, the timing was simply coincidence.

Or that's what he told himself. He had trained most of these birds himself, and of the ones he hadn't, there were only a few that he had been too young to have a hand in training. Doves weren't necessarily the smartest birds in the world, but they weren't really stupid, either. They would be useless for his tricks if they were.

* * *

 Towards the end of the third week, Kaito braved himself for the final test: outside. This would mark the end of his indoor practice sessions in the house proper unless he got a new pair of shoes. While much of his work was done indoors, he didn't want to risk being unprepared on a bumpy sidewalk.

Or worse: a park.

He took his time selecting an outfit. A nice hat, to hide his face. Fashionable glasses, just in case someone got close or something happened to the hat. A long, flowing skirt; so that it wouldn't constrict his movements in case he needed to run (which he had just enough confidence in his current skill level to attempt on a sidewalk while wearing torture devices strapped to his feet). A loose top that showed just enough shoulder to reveal a hint of a bra-strap that matched the color well enough.

And, of course, the heels.

He walked to the second closest park for practice, then steeled himself for the grass. Two steps in, and he was leaning to offset how much his heels wanted to burrow into the ground and die. He was tempted to leave them to their chosen tomb, but he had come so far. Through blisters and raw feet and blood. He had gone through more bandages in the last three weeks on just his feet than he normally did in three months. There was no way he was giving up just because of a little dirt.

Well, logically, taking extra care to keep any weight off the heel of the shoe would fix that, but that was easier said than done on such uneven ground. But that was why he was here, wasn't it? To practice under horrible conditions so that he wouldn't have to worry as much on the night of a heist.

Kaito carefully shifted his weight and lifted his shoes away from their dirt prison. Then he slowly, _slowly_ made his way towards a bench and sat down. His feet were killing him, but that had been a constant for so long, that he really hardly noticed anymore. He just rubbed them absently whenever he felt a need to.

He spent several hours practicing at the park, before he decided it was time to head home and give his feet their (now) daily healing treatment. It would be stupid to practice to the point where he could no longer walk. He planned to practice just under that amount and then give his battered feet a few days to heal before the big night. It would be stupid of him to practice until he was crippled.

He took the bus home.

* * *

 As the day of the heist grew closer, Kaito kept greater tabs on his planned access point to his target. He had managed to get duplicates of the majority of her planned outfit, but she hadn't purchased shoes yet. She didn't seem the type to use just any shoes. Especially with the outfit she had chosen. It was a flashy ensemble that begged for just the right pair of shoes, or it just wouldn't work. So it was with bated breath that he watched her enter a shoe store.

“Let's get some shoes,” he murmured to himself. Or herself, as Kaito looked to the world at the moment. He was wearing a cute dress and a wig as part of a casual disguise. Not to mention the five inch monstrosities that he had been battling with for most of the last month.

When he walked out a half-hour later, Kaito was about ready to cry. As it was, he was inwardly lamenting the fact that he couldn't even whine about this turn of events to anyone. Not without letting people know how he spent his nights. Maybe he could bring it up to Jii-chan later?

Kaito changed in a convenient alley on the way home that he liked to make use of on occasion. He toed off his normal shoes at the door, and took his disguise materials through the portrait to where they belonged. It took all his effort to not throw both pair of shoes as far away from him as he could. He groaned as he carefully set both the old and new pair in their proper places. Surely Oyaji hadn't had to put up with this.

Kaito straightened the pair of elaborate _flats_ just so under the rest of his disguise to give his hands something to do. On the one hand, he was grateful that he didn't have to worry about wearing heels this time around. On the other, he had spent three weeks cramming a skill that he could (and should) have spread out his time learning. His feet and his practice shoes would have both been better off had he known this would happen earlier. “These shoes suck.”


End file.
